Backend Team Lead (PHP/Node.js)

<p><strong><span data-contrast="auto">About Us: </span></strong><span data-ccp-props="{}">&nbsp;</span></p> <p><span data-contrast="auto">Delasport&nbsp;is where technology meets the excitement of sports and gaming! As a leading powerhouse in iGaming software, we provide everything from sports betting to online casinos and player account management. Our platform is designed to make every player feel like the star of the show, with personalized experience and&nbsp;cutting-edge&nbsp;technology at its heart.   </span><span data-ccp-props="{}">&nbsp;</span></p> <p><span data-contrast="auto">Since 2010,&nbsp;we've&nbsp;made a significant impact&nbsp;in&nbsp;industry, earning&nbsp;awards&nbsp;and expanding our global presence. With offices in Bulgaria, Ukraine, and Malta, our team of over 500 experts is constantly driving innovation and striving for excellence. </span><span data-ccp-props="{}">&nbsp;</span></p> <p><strong><span data-contrast="auto">About the Role</span></strong><span data-ccp-props="{}">&nbsp;</span></p> <p><span data-contrast="auto">We're&nbsp;hiring a Team Lead for one of the most consequential engineering teams at&nbsp;Delasport&nbsp;- the team that owns KYC, AML, anti-fraud, and regulatory compliance across the platform.</span><span data-ccp-props="{}">&nbsp;</span></p> <p><span data-contrast="auto">These&nbsp;aren't&nbsp;peripheral services.&nbsp;They're&nbsp;what makes it legally possible for our operators to take a bet in every market&nbsp;we're&nbsp;licensed in. Every player who signs up, every withdrawal, every suspicious pattern, every regulator report - it flows through systems your team owns. When a new&nbsp;jurisdiction&nbsp;comes online, your team is on the critical path.</span><span data-ccp-props="{}">&nbsp;</span></p> <p><span data-contrast="auto">If you want a leadership role where the work is technically real, the stakes are visible, and the autonomy is genuine - read on.</span> </p> <p><em><span data-contrast="auto">This role is based in Sofia, Bulgaria and we welcome candidates who are open to relocating (relocation support provided).</span></em><span data-ccp-props="{}">&nbsp;</span></p> <p><strong><span data-contrast="auto">What Your Team Owns</span></strong><span data-ccp-props="{}">&nbsp;</span></p> <p><span data-contrast="auto">You'll&nbsp;lead a team of 5 full-stack developers and 2 QAs responsible for:</span><span data-ccp-props="{}">&nbsp;</span></p> <ul> <li><span data-contrast="auto"><strong>KYC</strong> - identity verification pipelines, document checks, and third-party provider integrations</span><span data-ccp-props="{}">&nbsp;</span></li> <li><span data-contrast="auto"><strong>AML</strong> - transaction monitoring, sanctions and PEP screening, suspicious-activity detection</span><span data-ccp-props="{}">&nbsp;</span></li> <li><span data-contrast="auto"><strong>Anti-Fraud</strong> -&nbsp;behavioural&nbsp;analysis and fraud-pattern detection across player activity</span><span data-ccp-props="{}">&nbsp;</span></li> <li><span data-contrast="auto"><strong>Regulatory Compliance</strong> - jurisdiction-specific rules, reporting obligations, and operator configurations</span><span data-ccp-props="{}">&nbsp;</span></li> </ul> <p><span data-contrast="auto">The footprint is a mix of synchronous APIs, scheduled jobs, and real-time stream consumers processing events off Kafka and RabbitMQ.</span><span data-ccp-props="{&quot;335559685&quot;:0}">&nbsp;</span></p> <p><strong><span data-contrast="auto">What You'll Actually Work On</span></strong><span data-contrast="auto">&nbsp;</span><span data-ccp-props="{&quot;335559685&quot;:0}">&nbsp;</span></p> <ul> <li><strong><span data-contrast="auto">Shaping the future stack</span></strong><span data-contrast="auto">. Today the team works across PHP/Laravel, Python, and TypeScript/Vue. All new services will be written in Node.js, and&nbsp;you'll&nbsp;be a key voice in shaping how that evolution unfolds - patterns, shared libraries, deployment standards.</span><span data-ccp-props="{}">&nbsp;</span></li> <li><strong><span data-contrast="auto">Driving technical excellence</span></strong><span data-contrast="auto">. Setting and raising the bar on performance, reliability, and operational maturity across the team's services.</span><span data-ccp-props="{}">&nbsp;</span></li> <li><strong><span data-contrast="auto">Real ownership of production</span></strong><span data-contrast="auto">. The team owns its services end to end&nbsp;-&nbsp;design, build, ship,&nbsp;observe, fix. You set the standard for how that ownership is exercised.</span><span data-ccp-props="{}">&nbsp;</span></li> <li><strong><span data-contrast="auto">Growing&nbsp;the team</span></strong><span data-contrast="auto">.&nbsp;Seniors ready to push toward staff-level work;&nbsp;mids&nbsp;ready to grow into seniors. Your impact on them will be one of the most rewarding parts of this role.</span><span data-ccp-props="{}">&nbsp;</span></li> </ul> <p><strong><span data-contrast="auto">What&nbsp;You’ll&nbsp;Do</span></strong><span data-ccp-props="{}">&nbsp;</span></p> <ul> <li><strong><span data-contrast="auto">Lead the team</span></strong><span data-contrast="auto">. Set technical direction, code-quality bar, and architectural standards. Run code reviews that teach. Develop the engineers under you.</span><span data-ccp-props="{}">&nbsp;</span></li> <li><strong><span data-contrast="auto">Stay hands-on</span></strong><span data-contrast="auto">. This is not a pure people-management role.&nbsp;You'll&nbsp;write code, design systems, and pair on hard problems.</span><span data-ccp-props="{}">&nbsp;</span></li> <li><strong><span data-contrast="auto">Architect for the real world</span></strong><span data-contrast="auto">. Design services that handle real-time event streams reliably, fail safely under regulatory scrutiny, and integrate cleanly with the third-party providers we depend on.</span><span data-ccp-props="{}">&nbsp;</span></li> <li><strong><span data-contrast="auto">Drive the technical roadmap</span></strong><span data-contrast="auto">. Make and defend the calls on what to refactor, what to rewrite, and where to&nbsp;invest&nbsp;the team's time.</span><span data-ccp-props="{}">&nbsp;</span></li> <li><strong><span data-contrast="auto">Partner across the org</span></strong><span data-contrast="auto">. Work closely with Product, DevOps, Data, and the Compliance/Legal side of the business - the last of which is unusual for an engineering role and one of the more interesting parts of the job.</span><span data-ccp-props="{}">&nbsp;</span></li> </ul> <p><em><span data-contrast="auto">Employees may&nbsp;be required&nbsp;to&nbsp;participate&nbsp;in an on-call rotation, ensuring availability outside regular working hours to respond to urgent issues as needed as per the&nbsp;On&nbsp;call policy.</span></em><span data-ccp-props="{}">&nbsp;</span></p> <p><strong><span data-contrast="auto">Why This Role Is Different</span></strong><span data-ccp-props="{}">&nbsp;</span></p> <ul> <li><strong><span data-contrast="auto">High business impact</span></strong><span data-contrast="auto">. When KYC breaks, players&nbsp;can't&nbsp;deposit. When AML breaks, we have a regulatory problem. The work matters and people know it.</span><span data-ccp-props="{}">&nbsp;</span></li> <li><strong><span data-contrast="auto">Polyglot by design, not by accident</span></strong><span data-contrast="auto">. PHP, Python, TypeScript today; Node.js for everything new. If&nbsp;you're&nbsp;tired of being pigeonholed in one language, this team&nbsp;doesn't&nbsp;do that.</span><span data-ccp-props="{}">&nbsp;</span></li> <li><strong><span data-contrast="auto">Genuine ownership</span></strong><span data-contrast="auto">. Your team owns its&nbsp;services&nbsp;end to end. No throwing things over the wall.</span><span data-ccp-props="{}">&nbsp;</span></li> <li><strong><span data-contrast="auto">Regulated-domain&nbsp;depth</span></strong><span data-contrast="auto">. You'll learn how iGaming compliance actually works at the engineering level&nbsp;-&nbsp;&nbsp;a&nbsp;specialisation&nbsp;that's genuinely valuable and surprisingly rare on the market.</span><span data-ccp-props="{}">&nbsp;</span></li> </ul> <p><strong><span data-contrast="auto">Who You Are</span></strong><span data-contrast="auto">&nbsp;</span><span data-ccp-props="{&quot;335559685&quot;:0}">&nbsp;</span></p> <ul> <li><strong><span data-contrast="auto">Experience</span></strong><span data-contrast="auto">: 7+ years building backend systems in PHP, including 2+ years leading a team or&nbsp;operating&nbsp;as a senior technical lead.</span><span data-ccp-props="{}">&nbsp;</span></li> <li><strong><span data-contrast="auto">Core technical strength</span></strong><span data-contrast="auto">:</span><span data-ccp-props="{}">&nbsp;</span></li> <li><span data-contrast="auto">Strong PHP and OOP fundamentals&nbsp;-&nbsp;design patterns, clean architecture, testability.</span><span data-ccp-props="{}">&nbsp;</span></li> <li><span data-contrast="auto">Production experience with Laravel (or strong Symfony experience and the willingness to ramp on Laravel).</span><span data-ccp-props="{}">&nbsp;</span></li> <li><span data-contrast="auto">Comfortable working with event-driven systems&nbsp;-&nbsp;Kafka, RabbitMQ, or equivalent.&nbsp;You've&nbsp;built and&nbsp;operated&nbsp;consumers, not just published a message once.</span><span data-ccp-props="{}">&nbsp;</span></li> <li><span data-contrast="auto">Solid grasp of relational databases (MySQL/PostgreSQL)&nbsp;-&nbsp;schema design, query performance, the things that bite at scale.</span><span data-ccp-props="{}">&nbsp;</span></li> <li><span data-contrast="auto">Working experience with NoSQL (MongoDB, Redis, Elasticsearch, or similar)&nbsp;-&nbsp;knowing when to reach for it and when not to.</span><span data-ccp-props="{}">&nbsp;</span></li> <li><span data-contrast="auto">Comfortable with Docker,&nbsp;containerised&nbsp;deployments, and at least one cloud (AWS, GCP, or Azure).</span><span data-ccp-props="{}">&nbsp;</span></li> <li><strong><span data-contrast="auto">Architecture sense</span></strong><span data-contrast="auto">: You can reason&nbsp;about&nbsp;scalability, fault tolerance, and failure modes&nbsp;-&nbsp;and explain trade-offs to people who&nbsp;don't&nbsp;share your background.</span><span data-ccp-props="{}">&nbsp;</span></li> <li><strong><span data-contrast="auto">Leadership</span></strong><span data-contrast="auto">: You lead by setting direction and raising the bar of those around you, not by managing tickets. Strong written and spoken English.</span><span data-ccp-props="{}">&nbsp;</span></li> <li><strong><span data-contrast="auto">Mindset</span></strong><span data-contrast="auto">: Pragmatic, bias toward shipping, comfortable with ambiguity, genuinely interested in the business problem and not just the technical one.</span><span data-ccp-props="{}">&nbsp;</span></li> </ul> <p><strong><span data-contrast="auto">Nice to Have</span></strong><span data-ccp-props="{&quot;335559685&quot;:0}">&nbsp;</span></p> <ul> <li><span data-contrast="auto">Experience in iGaming, fintech, or any regulated domain (banking, payments, healthcare).</span><span data-ccp-props="{}">&nbsp;</span></li> <li><span data-contrast="auto">Hands-on experience with KYC/AML/fraud-prevention systems or vendor integrations.</span><span data-ccp-props="{}">&nbsp;</span></li> <li><span data-contrast="auto">Working knowledge of Python and/or Node.js.</span><span data-ccp-props="{}">&nbsp;</span></li> <li><span data-contrast="auto">Exposure to TypeScript/Vue or another modern frontend stack.</span><span data-ccp-props="{}">&nbsp;</span></li> </ul> <p><strong><span data-contrast="auto">What We Offer to Make You Smile:</span></strong><span data-ccp-props="{&quot;335559685&quot;:0}">&nbsp;</span></p> <p><span data-contrast="auto">We’re&nbsp;not just about&nbsp;work,  we&nbsp;are about creating&nbsp;a great place&nbsp;to grow, connect, and enjoy the journey.&nbsp;Here’s&nbsp;what you can expect when you join us:</span><span data-ccp-props="{}">&nbsp;</span></p> <ul> <li><strong><span data-contrast="auto">Competitive Salary Package:</span></strong><span data-contrast="auto"> We value your skills, dedication, and contributions</span><span data-ccp-props="{}">&nbsp;</span></li> <li><strong><span data-contrast="auto">Time Off: </span></strong><span data-contrast="auto">Enjoy </span><strong><span data-contrast="auto">21+ days of annual paid leave</span></strong><span data-contrast="auto"> so you can rest, recharge, and come back inspired</span><span data-ccp-props="{}">&nbsp;</span></li> <li><strong><span data-contrast="auto">Bonus &amp; Rewards:</span></strong><span data-contrast="auto"> Performance-based </span><strong><span data-contrast="auto">annual bonuses</span></strong><span data-contrast="auto">, special vouchers for birthdays and welcoming a newborn</span><span data-ccp-props="{}">&nbsp;</span></li> <li><strong><span data-contrast="auto">Health &amp; Wellness:</span></strong><span data-contrast="auto"> Additional </span><strong><span data-contrast="auto">Health insurance including dental care</span></strong><span data-contrast="auto">; Co-funding</span><strong><span data-contrast="auto"> </span></strong><span data-contrast="auto">a</span><strong><span data-contrast="auto"> Multisport/Coolfit&nbsp;card</span></strong><span data-contrast="auto"> to help you stay active</span><span data-ccp-props="{}">&nbsp;</span></li> <li><strong><span data-contrast="auto">Extra Benefits:</span></strong><span data-contrast="auto"> Employee discounts at various retailers and a </span><strong><span data-contrast="auto">monthly allowance for public transportation</span></strong><span data-ccp-props="{}">&nbsp;</span></li> <li><strong><span data-contrast="auto">Great Office Locations:</span></strong><span data-contrast="auto"> Central office location in </span><strong><span data-contrast="auto">Sofia </span></strong><span data-contrast="auto">and</span><strong><span data-contrast="auto"> Plovdiv</span></strong><span data-ccp-props="{}">&nbsp;</span></li> <li><strong><span data-contrast="auto">Relax &amp; Recharge Zone: </span></strong><span data-contrast="auto">Take a break with colleagues in our </span><strong><span data-contrast="auto">PlayStation </span></strong><span data-contrast="auto">and</span><strong><span data-contrast="auto"> Pool Area</span></strong><span data-contrast="auto"> - perfect for recharging during the day</span><span data-ccp-props="{}">&nbsp;</span></li> </ul> <p><strong><span data-contrast="auto">Wait,&nbsp;there’s&nbsp;more:</span></strong><span data-ccp-props="{}">&nbsp;</span></p> <ul> <li><strong><span data-contrast="auto">Happy Hour Fridays: </span></strong><span data-contrast="auto">Every Friday we host themed </span><strong><span data-contrast="auto">Happy Hours</span></strong><span data-contrast="auto"> with snacks, fun activities, and plenty of opportunities to connect and unwind with colleagues</span><span data-ccp-props="{}">&nbsp;</span></li> <li><strong><span data-contrast="auto">Multicultural Days: </span></strong><span data-contrast="auto">Celebrate diversity and experience the traditions, food, and cultures of teammates from around the world</span><span data-ccp-props="{}">&nbsp;</span></li> <li><strong><span data-contrast="auto">Massages at the Office: </span></strong><span data-contrast="auto">Weekly </span><strong><span data-contrast="auto">Free</span></strong><span data-contrast="auto"> </span><strong><span data-contrast="auto">Recreational Massages</span></strong><span data-contrast="auto"> to help relax during the workday</span><span data-ccp-props="{}">&nbsp;</span></li> <li><strong><span data-contrast="auto">Chess Lessons: </span></strong><span data-contrast="auto">Sharpen your strategic thinking and enjoy some friendly competition with colleagues</span><span data-ccp-props="{}">&nbsp;</span></li> <li><strong><span data-contrast="auto">Sports &amp; Football Team:</span></strong><span data-contrast="auto"> We regularly&nbsp;participate&nbsp;in various sports events and have our own&nbsp;Delasport&nbsp;Football Team, competing in the IT League</span><span data-ccp-props="{}">&nbsp;</span></li> <li><strong><span data-contrast="auto">Bulgarian Language Lessons:</span></strong><span data-contrast="auto"> Bulgarian for Foreigners classes to support smoother communication</span><span data-ccp-props="{}">&nbsp;</span></li> <li><strong><span data-contrast="auto">Office Library</span></strong><span data-contrast="auto">: Enjoy access to technical literature to expand your knowledge</span><span data-ccp-props="{}">&nbsp;</span></li> </ul> <p><strong><span data-contrast="auto">Ready to Be Part of Something Big?  </span></strong><span data-contrast="auto"> </span><span data-ccp-props="{}">&nbsp;</span></p> <p><span data-contrast="auto">If&nbsp;you're&nbsp;excited to join a team&nbsp;that's&nbsp;revolutionizing the iGaming world and want to make a real impact, apply today. We&nbsp;can't&nbsp;wait to meet you! </span><span data-ccp-props="{}">&nbsp;</span></p> <p><span style="color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">#LI-HYBRID</span></p>